"The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it is bad to say anything to them.” ― J.D. Salinger, The Catcher In The Rye

I just finished September's Book of the Month, Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer, and I have to say it was a really good pick. I loved it. I'll post some thought provoking discussion questions when the review goes up, but I'd like to take this chance to say you won't regret reading it!

As promised, October's selections are spooky enough to get you amped for Halloween. I usually don't celebrate Halloween with anything more than a festive t-shirt, but I am looking forward to the tradition of reading a spooky book every October.

I tried to build a spooky-scale with what I read from the reviews and descriptions. Hopefully it's pretty accurate to determine how terrifying or harmless the book is. We'll see how it goes.

☠

One Skull

Standard mystery, not too spooky

☠ ☠

Two Skulls

Pretty spooky. Probably wouldn't want trade places with any of the characters.

☠ ☠ ☠

Three Skulls

Has real monsters and ghosts, or people acting like real monsters enough to make you look underneath your bed and in the closet at night.

☠ ☠ ☠ ☠

Four Skulls

Probably the most terrifying you have ever read. I'm afraid to read this level. Good luck.

☠

I loved The Good Girl by Mary Kubica, so I have high expectations for Pretty Baby. Basically Heidi, a charitable woman, spots Willow, a teenage mother with a baby, standing in the pouring rain on a train platform. Heidi decides to take Willow and her baby home with her, but Willow has terrible secrets that no one expected.

☠ ☠ ☠

A spooky Halloween book list isn't complete without a book by the horror master himself, Stephen King. I chose cell because it's one I haven't heard of before, and Zombies are perfect for Halloween. In it an artist tries to find his son after a virus broadcast over the cell network turns people into zombies.

☠ ☠ ☠ ☠

I have to admit the synopsis of this book is pretty scary. It's about an aging rock star that collects the macabre, but gets more than he bargains for when he buys a suit that is haunted by a poltergeist that watches his every move. Fun fact: Joe Hill is Stephen King's son.

☠ ☠

The Illustrated Man is a collection of science-fiction short stories written in 1951. A former carnival freak show vagrant is covered with animated tattoos that explore the conflict of cold technology and the psychology of humans.

So there it is! October's spooky selections. Voting ends on October 3rd at midnight so be sure to get your votes in!